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Thursday, April 12, 2012

RECAP: The Baie Got Bounced. Dogs Win.

FINAL: Saint John 5, Baie-Comeau 3

BAIE-COMEAU, Que. – It’s all over for the Baie-Comeau
Drakkar.

After upsetting the Victoriaville Tigres in the first
round in a four-game sweep, the Drakkar found themselves on the other side in
the second round against the Saint John Sea Dogs. With a 5-3 win on Wednesday
night, the Sea Dogs completed a sweep of Baie-Comeau and will now play in
the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League semi-finals for a third straight year.

It was a wild night at the Henry Leonard Centre as fans continuously
threw garbage on the ice. The Drakkar opened the scoring but the Dogs battled
back. Baie-Comeau would never lead again.

It was a very similar to Tuesday’s Game 3, a game Saint
John won 5-2. The Drakkar managed to keep up with the Sea Dogs but could not
quite reach their level.

Saint John had two goals each from Jonathan Huberdeau and
Ryan Tesink while Charlie Coyle added a solo marker. Coyle’s goal was a very
rare shorthanded penalty shot marker. Stephen MacAulay chipped in with two
helpers. Mathieu Corbeil had another strong game in net, making 20
saves for the win.

Baie-Comeau had goals from Lukas Cingel, Raphael
Bussieres, and David Rose. Philippe Cadorette allowed four goals on 44 shots.

Saint John outscored Baie-Comeau 29-10 in this series.
The final two games were a challenge, but it was a relatively smooth ride for
the Dogs. They are now the only team in the league without a post-season loss
and are the first to advance to the semis.

FIRST PERIOD

Baie-Comeau went up one early. Tomas Filippi fed Lukas
Cingel at the other side of the goal. Cingel didn't miss and made it 1-0
Drakkar.

Saint John then had a great opportunity to tie it up.
Already up a man, the Sea Dogs headed to a five-on-three power play at 7:09.
The Dogs were buzzing a bit but couldn’t create many terrific scoring chances.

Back at even strength, Mathieu Corbeil made a huge glove
save on a Jonathan Lessard shot.

Grant West headed to the box at 11:04. While shorthanded,
Charlie Coyle tried to break away but had his stick chopped out of his hands. He
was awarded a penalty shot at 12:26 and he would connect, making a move to his
forehand to tie it at 1-1.

Saint John had another power play at 13:57 but once again
couldn’t get much going.

At 19:35, Coyle headed off after getting involved in
scrum in front of the net. The game would head to intermission tied at 1-1.

Shots were 16-6 Saint John in the first.

SECOND PERIOD

Early on, Coyle came flying down the wing but had his
shot gloved by Cadorette.

Ryan Tesink gave Saint John a 2-1 lead at 5:15. A Stephen
MacAuly shot went off of him in front and in to give the Dogs their first lead
of the night.

At 6:19, Grant West and Samuel Noreau squared off for a brief
but solid tilt.

Later on, Jonathan Huberdeau was parked in front didn’t
have enough room to get a good shot off. The Dogs went to the power play at 8:10
but, despite some good pressure, could not connect.

Tesink gave Saint John a two-goal lead at 11:01. MacAulay
fed him the puck and he then sniped one past Cadorette to make it 3-1.

But the two-goal advantage was short lived. Just nine
seconds later, Cingel fed Raphael Bussierers who went top shelf on Corbeil to make
it a 3-2 affair.

At 12:05, Alexandre Chenevert nailed Stanislav Galiev
from behind and somehow only got two minutes for it. Huberdeau would make the
Drakkar pay as he scored his fifth of the playoffs at 12:40. Galiev would
return a few minutes later.

The Drakkar started to melt down after that. The Dogs had
a long five-on-three power play at 16:10 but Baie-Comeau managed to kill it
off.

Late in the frame at 19:30, chaos broke loose at the
Henry Leonard Centre as “fans” threw garbage all over the ice. Get real. Saint
John would get a power play because of their actions though, a power play that carrier over into the
third.

THIRD PERIOD

Huberdeau headed to the box for four minutes just 55 seconds
in but the Dogs would kill it off.

At 9:22, Baie-Comeau headed to the power play as Ian Saab
headed off. On the man advantage, the Drakkar made it a 4-3 game as David Rose
scored at 11:07.

But the Dogs would head to a power play of their own at
12:12 after Zack Phillips took a stick in the face. Danick Gauthier had a great
chance in front but the net completely flopped forward and play was whistled dead.

Baie-Comeau had some moments to tie it late in the third
but nothing too serious. Huberdeau ended it at 19:55 with an empty netter.
Peace.

Shots were 10 apiece in the third.

Saint John went 1-for-9 on the power play while
Baie-Comeau went 1-for-5.

NOTES: See Sea Dogs Postscript tomorrow on SN.

NEXT GAME: Game 1 of the semi-finals is Friday, April 20
at Harbour Station against a yet-to-be-determined team.